Chinese carrier Xiamen Airlines launched on December 18 its Davao-to-Quanzhou direct flight, the first direct route to mainland China from Davao.
With the launch, Davao becomes the fourth Philippine city where Xiamen Airlines operates direct flights, after Manila, Cebu, and Kalibo. The new flight service is set to provide a bridge in the air for economic and trade exchanges between Davao and Jinjiang of Quanzhou as sister cities, the carrier said in a statement.
As the airline company with the largest share of the commercial flight market between China and the Philippines, Xiamen Airlines has been facilitating exchanges between the two nations through its flight network for 32 years now.
Quanzhou, one of the three central cities in China’s Fujian Province, holds the distinction of being the only UNESCO-accredited starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. Xiamen Airlines noted that a large number of ethnic Chinese in the Philippines trace their ancestry to Quanzhou as well. Davao, the third largest Philippine city, is one of the leading cities in the country in terms of interaction with China, the carrier added.
Last October, the consulate general of China in Davao officially opened. At the inauguration ceremony, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi specifically introduced Xiamen Airlines’ upcoming Davao-Quanzhou flight route, stating that it “is set to inject fresh vitality into the development of Davao and the southern part of the Philippines.” In November, Davao and Jinjiang of Quanzhou were paired up as sister cities, creating a solid platform for both cities to deepen goodwill cooperation and exchange on all fronts.
The Davao-Quanzhou flight route is serviced by Boeing 737s. The flight departs Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport at 9:00 a.m. every Tuesday and Friday, arriving in Davao at 12:15 p.m. The return flight leaves Davao International Airport at 1:15 p.m., arriving in Quanzhou at 4:30 p.m.
Aside from the Davao-Quanzhou flight route, Xiamen Airlines’ network covers three Philippine cities—Manila, Cebu and Kalibo—with six flight routes: Manila-Xiamen/Quanzhou, Cebu-Xiamen/Fuzhou, and Kalibo-Hangzhou/Fuzhou. These flight routes connect to all major cities across China. There are 34 flights a week on these routes, with an accumulative total of 7,690 flights and nearly 1 million passengers, giving Xiamen Airlines the largest share of the commercial flight market between the two nations.
Going forward, Xiamen Airlines said it will devote greater resources to flights between the two countries to create a network of regular services between major Philippine cities and China’s Fujian, Beijing, and Hangzhou, which are the bases of Xiamen Airlines.
